The season is nearly halfway done, making it a good time to evaluate how the Indiana Pacers players are living up to expectations.
At the nominal-halfway point of the season — the Indiana Pacers have played 40 of 82 games, and the NBA as a whole has moved past that halfway mark — we take a look at how each Pacer has performed.
All grades account for general expectations of the player’s ability.
The MVP: Who else but Paul George? It’s true that George has had more help on offense than in years past, and Jeff Teague has been exceptional in the last 10-15 games.
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Myles Turner and Thad Young have had huge moments, and have been even more valuable due to the players behind them in the rotation. All of that is truth, but it’s still PG for MVP. His clutchness this season has won the Pacers games in of itself, and he’s still easily the best Pacer. This team will go as far as PG can take them.
The LVP: Monta Ellis. Ellis has given the Pacers next to nothing this year, and even his detractors likely wouldn’t have guessed his fall off would’ve been this precipitous. He hasn’t even managed to look like an above average player this year, and the fit with this Pacers team makes it even worse.
The X-Factor: Thad Young. Young doesn’t need the ball in his hands to be effective, and he’s been everything the Pacers hoped for. He’s had multiple games of 4 or more steals, he’s shooting over 40% from 3, and his energy level has been noticeably infectious in a number of games. He has pronounced weaknesses, but when he’s on his game and flying all over the court, this Pacers team is a different animal out there.